USA Ed Department College Remediation Figures Can Be Misleading

January 7th, 2013

The study below understates the need for remediation because it includes only those who took remedial courses , not the number that need remediation. A variety of studies calculate remediation at over 60% of community college students and 25% of 4 year college students. Many of these students do not take remedial courses before they drop out, or postpone taking them , and then never finish their program of studies.. So read the study below with great caution.

A National Center for Education Statistics report sheds light on incoming college students who are taking remedial classes and how the landscape has changed in the past decade. The percentage of freshman who had to take remedial classes dropped from 1999-2000 to 2007-2008 from 26.3% to 20.4%. The report found lower percentages of white students taking remedial classes compared to black and Hispanic students. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/04/13)